A discharge device for a dispensing container is well-known. A sleeve and plunger assembly is a well known discharge device for a dispensing container. Such a device can be used for dispensing sherbert, ice cream or a similar food material. Basically the sleeve and plunger assembly includes a sleeve capable of containing the food material. The plunger forces the food out of the tube to a point where it may be consumed. As the food is consumed, the plunger forces more food out of the tube.
Such sleeve and plunger assemblies are well known in the art. However, it has been a major problem to form the sleeve and plunger assemblies in an efficient manner. The sleeve and plunger assembly must be formed efficiently and in quantity to be commercially effective.
It is known in the art to provide a method and apparatus for handling a packaging container of the sleeve and plunger type. In particular, a sleeve may have one open end, with a substantially closed end having an opening therein and being oppositely disposed from the open end. The sleeve sealingly engages a plunger along the axis thereof between the open and closed ends by insertion through the open end. One requirement of this particular structure is that each container is formed singly.
It is also known in the art to provide an apparatus for application of base cups to rounded bottle bottoms. This can be done in a continuous fashion by a continuous feed of bottles and base cups to an appropriate mechanism combined with a continuous removal of the resultant bottles. However, it is still only possible to assemble one such bottle at a time. With this apparatus, the base cup generally represents the plunger, and the bottle generally represents the sleeve in this particular case.
A similar assembly of forming an ice cream cone having a jacket wrapped therearound provides for only forming one at a time also. The cone itself provides the sleeve while the wrap provides the plunger or the insertion therein. In this case, such insertion procedures can only form one such assembly at a time.
It is clear that a machine accomplishing one assembly at a time must work a substantial period of time to provide a sufficient number of assemblies especially of the sleeve and plunger type. Such extra working time means a greater use and a correspondingly faster wear out time. Such a faster wear out time decreases production time and increases a downtime of the apparatus.
Accordingly, if a device or apparatus can be developed to efficiently assemble a plurality of sleeve and plunger assemblies at the same time while providing the apparatus with the insertion and takeoff mechanisms, a very desired result can be obtained.